...…. especially as they had to play over half the match a man short after winger Iain Parris was red-carded for a retaliatory punch in the first half. This result allowed Imperial to leapfrog Avon in the Somerset Premier table and having to settle for the slight consolation of a losing bonus point in an absorbing 27-25 defeat.

Avon made the perfect start as clean lineout ball from skipper Kane Book resulted in a series of powerful forward drives before Ben Hurd surged over for his 7th try this season. Jonny Batchelor converted magnificently from out wide with Hurd even claiming a conversion assist as he held the ball in place on the tee in the blustery wind! Imperial showed early signs of their capabilities when they struck back by sucking in the Avon defence before working an overlap for an unconverted try on the left wing.

From the restart, Avon again struck ruthlessly when they moved into the red zone as Book again ensured clean lineout possession in the home side’s 22. This time though, they cleverly moved the point of attack and, after a few short passes amongst the pack, man-of-the-match Sam Book dived over the try line. Again Batchelor added the extras from the touchline and shortly afterwards extended the lead still further with a well-struck penalty.

The next quarter saw Avon relax instead of capitalising on their dominance with the benefit of the wind and the slope. Too many mistakes disrupted their rhythm and allowed Imps to start gaining momentum. They took full advantage with a quickly taken short penalty for their second try, then created a third with a well worked midfield move which opened up a huge gap for their winger to slice through under the posts. The successful conversion levelled the scores at 17 apiece, then came Parris’s moment of madness that reduced Avon to 14 men for the rest of the match.

Immediately after half time, centre Escher Le Duq set off on a mesmerising run from inside his own half leaving a trail of would-be tacklers in his wake as he stormed through for an outstanding individual try to allow Avon to retake the lead. With Ian Burnell and Xander Davis putting in powerful shifts up front and Ollie Flight posing threats in the backs, Avon made light of the manpower deficit but couldn’t string together enough fluency to find the elusive bonus point try.

An exchange of penalties saw the game enter the last quarter with Imps camped inside the Avon 22. Some magnificent defence repelled all their attacks but poor tactical kicking and a succession of conceded penalties failed to relieve the pressure and Imps continued to batter away with their powerful runners until they eventually found a gap which they exploited for the winning score.

Next week, Avon host Minehead Barbarians at Hicks Field.